Sort/Hvid

We are not afraid of the refugee crisis, of the climate crisis, of the financial crisis. Of Trump or Putin, the survival of the planet, of the mind, of the welfare state. We are not afraid of being stupid, elitist, chauvinist, feminist, post-factual, intellectual, of being out of date or in your face.

We are not afraid of being in someone’s pocket or in no one’s pocket. To be the last people on earth before it ends, or to party as if we were passengers on the Titanic.

We are not afraid of standing alone. We are not afraid of being alone. Not afraid of being black or white. Not afraid of being afraid.

Sort/Hvid is a stage. For art and politics. We are based in an old, industrial butchery in Copenhagen’s Meatpacking District. Come visit us. If you are not afraid.

Profile

Sort/Hvid [Black/White] is one of Copenhagen’s most agenda-setting theatres. Sort/Hvid creates art that examines current social and political issues across genre and form. Through collaborations with artists, performers, researchers, theatres, festivals and art institutions both in Denmark and abroad, we toss and turn current issues in the public debate in the pursuit of expanding the public consciousness. Under the artistic direction of director and playwright Christian Lollike, Sort/Hvid gains recognition and attention at home and abroad, among the theatre audience, and in the public debate.

Sort/Hvid’s political art is produced in a newly renovated slaughterhouse in the Meatpacking District of Copenhagen with collaborators ranging from independent performing arts groups to established public arts institutions. Through collaborations with Aarhus Teater, The Royal Danish Theatre and Teater Momentum, Sort/Hvid gains a much wider outreach than our size allows. With Aarhus Teater, this has been evident in our staging of the Hoblerg classic ERASMUS MONTANUS, and in LIVING DEAD, a zombie horror on the refugee crisis. With The Danish Royal Theatre, we have created the war ballet IN CONTACT and UROPA with the Royal Ballet have shown. At festivals, we experiment with other forms of expression – like opera in our staging of Mozart’s DON JUAN in a horny nightclub version during CPH Opera Festival. Through collaborations with art centres Overgaden and Kunsthal Aarhus, we incorporate contemporary art in our work, often seeking to expand the theatre’s practices. Examples include the memorial WE ARE NOT REAL, the performative exhibition MARTYR MUSEUM and the satirical-political performance movement THE PUPPET PARTY.

Our works always try to challenge political agendas, and with heavily debated stagings such as the race war in BLACK MADONNA with Madame Nielsen and the examination of the mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik in MANIFEST 2083, Sort/Hvid has shown that theatre can extend its range from the cultural section to the wider public debate.

At our location in the Meatpacking district we have about 7000-9000 audiences per year, where Sort/Hvid’s total audience on own and other stages in the country adds up to 15-20,000 annually. The audience is wide ranging in age, and 40 percent of our audience in the Meatpacking District is under 30 years of age.

The theatre was founded in 1972 under the name CaféTeatret. In 2014, CaféTeatret changed its name to Sort/Hvid. Just half a year later, the historic theatre in Skindergade burned down. In the spring of 2017, we opened our new theatre in Staldgade in the Meatpacking District with the support of the City of Copenhagen, private foundations and almost 400 private followers who backed our crowdfunding campaign. Here, Sort/Hvid is housed today.

Organisation

Sort/Hvid is a “small metropolitan theatre” and thus part of a scheme where the state and the municipality together make a total annual contribution to the daily operation of a number of Copenhagen theatres.

In addition, Sort/Hvid gains revenue from ticket sales for performances and other artistic projects. From private and public foundations, the theater receives project support for specific artistic projects.

Management

Christian LollikeArtistic Director

Christian is recognized in Denmark and internationally for his work as a playwright and director. He works with text theatre, sculpture, concerts, opera, ballet, action art – often based on specific political events. His works are well known in Denmark as well as in Europe, where he has caused debate and engagement with his entertaining and often controversial performances. Many of them are translated into English, German and French. In particular, he met attention with the performance MANIFEST 2083 about the Norwegian mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik from both the Danish and international press as well as curators of international theatre festivals.

Mette BryndumManaging Director

Mette has produced theatre for ten years before taking up the position as Managing Director for Sort/Hvid in 2018. She comes from a position as producer at the Opera of The Royal Danish Theatre (2014-2018). Previously she worked with strategy, business development and project management in Tryg Insurance, DFDS A/S and Maersk Tankers, A. P. Møller-Maersk. Mette holds a MSc in Economics and Business Administration (IBS) from Copenhagen Business School.

Mette has worked as a producer for independent groups for several years, including productions for Teater Får302 in Copenhagen and was one of the founding members in HAUTscene.dk, where she was chairman of the board until 2018.

Mette is currently a member of the board of Danish National Opera.

Board

Michael ChristiansenChairman of the Board

Charlotte Sahl-MadsenVice Chairman of the BoardManaging Director / The Capital of Children

Helle HaagenMember of the BoardManager / C:NTACT

Sys RovsingMember of the BoardPartner / Rovsing & Gammeljord

Christian HaveMember of the BoardOwner and Creative Director / Have Kommunikation